No Ghostbusters Required
by Stirling Phoenix
Summary: BoKuroo. AkaKen. AU. "You know, even if we do have a ghost, there's no reason it can't be a friendly one," he tries. Surprisingly, that's enough to get Bokuto to relinquish his grip in the pillow once more and look back up at him. "Yeah, but if pop culture's taught me anything, it's that every friendly ghost has three diabolical uncle ghosts that will definitely be out to get us."


**No Ghostbusters Required**

 **Pairing** : Bokuto Koutarou/Kuroo Tetsurou and Akaashi Keiji/Kozume Kenma

 **Rating** : NC-17

 **Notes:** Written for the Fic Writer Exchange, and dedicated to 90stimkon.

* * *

"Bro?" The inquiry in Bokuto's voice immediately causes Kuroo's ears to perk up. If it wasn't for the heavy box of games he'd been carrying, he'd have given Bokuto his full attention much sooner, but after a few steps, he's able to set the box down on the desk, and quickly pad his way over to the bed, where Bokuto's unpacking suitcases and sorting out clothes. Kuroo can't help but wrinkle his nose at how haphazardly Bokuto folds his dress shirts (the ones he'd taken the time to iron before the move) but ignores that in favor of focusing on Bokuto.

"Yeah?" He sits down next to Bokuto, offering him a smile as he raises a hand to play with Bokuto's soft hair. Being as busy as they were with settling in a new home, Bokuto hadn't bothered to style his hair with gel as he usually would, so of course, Kuroo has to take advantage of that.

"Hmm~" Bokuto gives a soft hum, leaning into Kuroo's touch and moving so that he can nuzzle Kuroo's hand with his cheek. After a moment, he pulls back, looking at Kuroo with an emotion he can't quite place. "You don't think," Bokuto pauses, as if he's uncertain of how he wants to word his thoughts, "that anything to the realtor said about this place is true," Bokuto pauses again, looking like he's trying to convince himself of something. "Do you?"

Instead of answering right away, Kuroo scoots as closer to Bokuto and wraps his arms around him, holding him close and placing a gentle kiss to his cheek.

"Nah," he replies, taking another chance to ruffle Bokuto's hair, still marveling at its supreme softness. "Do you?" he asks when Bokuto still appears on edge.

Bokuto attempts to shrug in Kuroo's hold. "I don't know, maybe?" Bokuto looks even more uncertain than he did before, and Kuroo gets the impression that he wishes he wasn't alone in this line of thought.

Kuroo lets out a soft hum of his own. "Well, I don't know that for sure," he tries again. "You never know, there could be ghosts roaming around, just waiting to meet -"

Before Kuroo can finish his thought, Bokuto is pulling away and throwing himself on the bed, covering his head with both his and Kuroo's pillows, like he's trying to hide himself.

"That doesn't help either, Kuroo!" Somehow, he manages to make out Bokuto's muffled voice through all that fluff. At first, Kuroo doesn't do anything, he knows in cases like these, he must be gentle with his coaxing.

"So," Kuroo begins, still not entirely sure which kind of answer Bokuto's really looking for, "you," a pause, "do not want ghosts in the house?"

Only then does Bokuto relinquish his hold on the pillow and allows himself to peek out at Kuroo. "That's right." There's a still a distinct note of hesitancy in his voice that doesn't get passed Kuroo.

With a bit of maneuvering, Kuroo has himself sitting back against the headboard with his legs crossed. "I mean it when I say we won't be haunted by any creepy spirits."

Bokuto still has that look of uncertainty shining in his golden eyes. "You're not just saying that to make me feel better, are you?"

"I hope it does, but no," Kuroo replies, reaching out to just barely graze his fingertips against Bokuto's forearm.

If he's not mistaken, Bokuto leans into his touch a little bit, but Kuroo knows he's not even close to relinquishing his pillow defenses. "And you're not even a little worried there might be something, you know, supernatural running about, in our new home specifically?"

He shrugs. "No, I've never believed in that sort of thing." Kuroo quirks an eyebrow up at Bokuto. "Do you?"

"I think so," Bokuto answers, looking away from Kuroo. "I just really want this to work out, you know?" Again, he pauses before adding, "Like, sometimes it feels like things fell into place for us way too easily, and that it's only a matter of time before something comes along and ruins it."

Kuroo understands that sentiment all too well. On more than one occasion, Kuroo's caught himself thinking about just how amazing his life is, with a perfect husband who loves him dearly, and how lucky they are to be able to start their lives like this together.

"And you think that something is a ghost?" he finally asks, trying to put the pieces together.

"Argh!" Bokuto lets out a frustrated groan as he pulls away from Kuroo and goes back to hiding his entire face under the pillow, effectively putting him back to square one. "I don't know what it is!" Once again, Kuroo's lucky enough to understand what he's saying.

Kuroo isn't fazed by this, having already figured out how to go about his second attempt at consoling Bokuto. Every once in a while, it takes more than one or two tries, but he has yet let to Bokuto down, and he'll be damned if he lets a discussion about ghosts ruin that for him.

"You know, even if we do have a ghost, there's no reason it can't be a friendly one," he tries, using a light, optimistic voice.

Surprisingly, that's enough to get Bokuto to relinquish his grip in the pillow once more and look back up at him. "Yeah, but if pop culture's taught me anything, it's that every friendly ghost has three diabolical uncle ghosts that will definitely be out to get us."

A large grin spreads across his face upon hearing that. "Well if that happens, there will be only one thing that'll save us then."

"What's that?"

And just like that, Kuroo finds himself leaping out of bed and striking a pose, belting out the lyrics in English because the song is just that iconic.

"If there's something strange in your neighborhood," he pauses for a single beat, just like the singer does, "Who you gonna call?"

"Ghostbusters!" Bokuto exclaims, throwing the pillows off and leaping into the air in order to properly respond. In a matter of seconds, Bokuto's entire demeanor had changed completely; Kuroo watched in pure fascination as the anxiety and nerves that plagued him vanished instantly, revealing his true enthusiastic, albeit sometimes goofy nature, and for perhaps the hundredth time that day, Kuroo's reminded of why he loves Bokuto so much.

Even with his mission complete, Kuroo keeps on singing, letting his own silly side shine through.

"If there's something weird, and it don't look good," another slight pause, "Who you gonna call?"

"Ghostbusters!" Bokuto shouts, throwing his arms in the air and cheering with just as much excitement as before.

After taking a moment to calm down, Bokuto's expression grows pensive, to which Kuroo responds with a questioning look, prompting Bokuto to express his concerns.

"Kuroo, I'm not sure they're actually real though."

"I never!" Kuroo gasps, looking supremely offended that Bokuto would dare make such a claim. "What kind of messed up world do we live in if the Ghostbusters don't exist?!"

Something finally seems to click in Bokuto's mind, the way his eyes light up when the realization hits is so captivating, that Kuroo completely forgets about what he'd been trying to do in the first place. For better or worse, Bokuto's radiance has always had that kind of effect on him.

"Maybe the one where ghosts don't really exist?" Bokuto asks with a trace of uncertainty tinting his voice, as if he thinks he still might be missing Kuroo's point. He's not, of course, but even if he was, Kuroo's not sure he'd have the heart to tell him.

"My thoughts exactly," the soft smile he gives Bokuto quickly morphs into a mischievous grin, and a certain glint in his eyes is the only warning Bokuto gets before he starts approaching.

"Now c'mere, you!" And with that, he tackles Bokuto onto the bed, wasting no time in covering his gorgeous face in soft kisses, which inevitably leads to something far more intimate.

Only afterward does Kuroo realize he accidentally kicked the clothing Bokuto had been sorting off the bed, making it all too apparent that he'll definitely have to iron those dress shirts again.

* * *

A month later, Kuroo and Bokuto have finally settled into their new home. Just a few days ago, in fact, Kuroo had unpacked the last box of knick-knacks, signaling the end of their move once and for all. Having achieved such a momentous task, Kuroo can't help but find himself once again taking a step back from everything, and realizing how lucky he is to have Bokuto in his life to share this beautiful home with. Bokuto is right, everything about this is too perfect, but it's all a dream come true to Kuroo, and he simply can't comprehend all of this being anything less than real.

Kuroo still believes the reassurances he'd given Bokuto on their very first night, but that hasn't stopped one or two peculiar things from happening around the house. It's nothing major, nothing that gives him the creeps or the sense of uneasiness that accompanies the feeling he's being watched, and he's sure that under the right set of circumstances, he wouldn't even take notice of these things. However, being as observant as he is, it's hard not to tell when certain objects aren't in their proper spot, but it is strange when he knows for a fact he wasn't the one to put them out of place, and Bokuto swears up and down that he didn't do it either.

"Bro, you know I love you, right?" Bokuto asks one morning, chomping down on the kind of sugary cereal that's meant for kids, (but no one's going to tell a full-grown adult they can't have), while Kuroo messes with the fancy coffee machine they'd purchased soon after moving, instead of keeping the old basic one acquired during college that had long since lost the ability to make coffee as strong as he wanted it.

"Of course, bro," Kuroo's response is automatic even though he's probably only giving Bokuto about half of his attention at the moment, while dedicating the other half on figuring out which button he needs to press to make an espresso. Honestly, this is the last time he'd ever let himself get too cocky and throw away the instruction manual along with the box.

"And you know I'm happy to share all my stuff with you, yeah?" Not even a second later he hears the distinct sound of Bokuto's teeth crunching cereal.

"Same," he replies just before locating the exact button he needs, slamming his finger down on it before turning back to Bokuto, waiting to hear where he's taking the conversation.

"That said, would you mind shutting off my Gameboy after you use it?" Bokuto blurts out. "Whenever I want to play, I always find it with the power switch flipped to 'on' and the battery totally dead, which doesn't bother me that much, but finding batteries in this place is near impossible."

"I thought we bought a bunch a few weeks ago?" Kuroo asks, neglecting the fact that Bokuto's accusing him of something he didn't do for the moment, in favor of seeking out those batteries. "We even designated a drawer for them, remember?" Padding over to the other side of the kitchen, he pulls open the drawer from under the counter where he'd thought he put their battery stock, only to find the odds and ends of office supplies that they'd both collected over the years. "Where did I put those damn things?" he mutters to himself, opening at least five more drawers before he finally reveals one full of batteries of varying sizes. "Found them!" he declares with a victorious smile.

Bokuto looks back at him with a look of pure unamusement written all over his face. "Near impossible," he repeats.

Even though he'd just found them, Kuroo has to admit the task was harder than it needed to be. "Maybe we should get a label maker."

"Maybe you could just turn off the Gameboy and stop draining battery power, so I don't have to go on an impromptu scavenger hunt whenever I want to play a game," Bokuto shoots back without missing a beat. While the words themselves are accusatory, there's a teasing lilt in his voice that lets Kuroo know he's messing with him.

"Hey, I can't even remember the last time I've touched your game," Kuroo says, deciding to defend himself this time. "Maybe you fall asleep while playing, and by the time you wake up the screen's already dead, so you always think you've turned it off, until you want to play the next time, that is."

Instead automatically firing back, Bokuto falls silent for a moment, and Kuroo can tell he's trying to decide whether that could be the case or not. Kuroo is positive he's not responsible for this, but at the same time, he has a difficult time believing Bokuto would forget to turn off his console like that.

"Nah, that's not right either," he says when Bokuto still hasn't responded. "You are so meticulous with saving your progress, and you never forget to do it before turning the game off." The sound the coffee machine makes when it's finished pulls Kuroo back to the other side of the kitchen, where he tends to his long-awaited cup. "Doesn't matter how tired you are, I don't think you'd forgo your ritual for a few extra seconds of sleep."

"But that doesn't mean I did it either," he adds before Bokuto can try to accuse him again.

"Who do you think's doing it, then?" he asks, sounding as if he's toying with the idea that an actual person might be playing some sort of trick on them.

Kuroo shrugs. "Dunno, probably the same jerk who's been opening our snacks and then leaving them to spoil without even taking a bite."

Bokuto blinks. "Say what now?"

"Heh," he snickers, taking a sip of his coffee that's finally cool enough for him and trotting over to the table to take a seat next to Bokuto. "I actually thought you were the one doing that."

Now it's Bokuto's turn to look mock offended. "Since when have you ever known me to forget about food?"

"That's why I never said anything until now," Kuroo replies, taking another drink. "It just didn't make any sense."

Bokuto simply nods. As he always does after finishing his cereal, he lifts the bowl to his lips and slurps away the rest of the milk. After setting the dish back down, Kuroo watches absent-mindedly as Bokuto's gaze wanders off to the side. He's about to ask Bokuto about what's on his mind, before Bokuto's bolting out of his seat and making his way across the room. Again, he follows Bokuto's movements as they lead him over to another counter, he cringes internally when he sees what Bokuto had made a beeline over to the counter for.

"You mean like this?" Bokuto asks, the wrapping crinkles under his hold as he picks it up, waving the open package in the air for Kuroo to properly see it.

"Exactly," Kuroo nods, noting the green coloring on the wrapper. "It's only the apple fruit pies too."

"Huh," Bokuto makes a small sound of acknowledgment before pulling the pie out of the packaging and biting into it. "Still tastes good at least," he mumbles between chewing.

Kuroo can't stop himself from wrinkling his nose in utter disdain. "Bro, don't eat it, we don't know how long it's been out like that."

"It's fine!" Bokuto completely disregards his warning and finishes the pie in a couple bites.

"Uh huh, sure," Kuroo mutters, diverging his gaze back to his coffee. "If you get sick I'm leaving you to suffer on your own."

Just as he expects, Bokuto doesn't take him seriously for even a second. "You'd never leave me hanging like that, bro!" he declares before returning to the table and curling up at Kuroo's side, wrapping his strong arms around his waist and holding him in a tight embrace. "You love me too much."

"Yeah, yeah," he makes a conscious effort to sound unconvinced of that sentiment, but as always, Bokuto doesn't buy that for a second and only strengthens his hold on him, as if he's trying to squeeze the truth out of Kuroo.

"I love you more than you love spoiled fruit pies," Kuroo snickers, moving in Bokuto's hold just a bit so he can reach out to caress his cheek.

"Knew it!" Bokuto laughs happily, somehow managing to hold Kuroo even closer to him, not that Kuroo really minds. At this rate they'll both probably be a few minutes late to work, but extra morning snuggles are more than worth it.

To Kuroo's supreme dismay, the open snack Bokuto ate earlier that morning isn't the last one he finds today.

* * *

The afternoon starts off normal enough. As per usual on Wednesdays, Kuroo finds himself home before Bokuto, and decides to take advantage of the near deafening silence his absence creates by changing out of his work clothes, planting himself in the living room, and indulging in a book for an hour or two until Bokuto comes home.

For some unknown reason, the living room always seems to be much colder than the rest of the house, at least as far as the first floor is concerned. Bokuto insists that one of the guest bedrooms upstairs is a 'freakin' icebox', even though there's no reason for it. Surely, they'll have to figure out something come winter, but for now, when the summer heat still lingers about even though autumn is fast approaching, Kuroo finds that after donning a hoodie and a pair of fuzzy socks, the room temperature is actually pretty comfy, and relaxing on the sofa in the otherwise chilly living room is his favorite spot for curling up with a book while he waits.

The sugary scent of processed apple pie fills the air, but at that point, Kuroo's already few chapters into his latest read and he finds himself engrossed into the story, so much so that he doesn't notice the abnormal aroma wafting through the air from a gentle summer's breeze coming in from a nearby window. Nothing short of Bokuto's arrival is enough to break this level of concentration; it's by pure happenstance that his eyes glance away from his current page for only a second, but the sight he sees in that short span of time is more than enough to have him nearly jumping out of his skin. He's almost too afraid to look back and confirm it, but he manages to gather up just enough courage to catch a glimpse out of the corner of his eye, allowing him to see the source of his and Bokuto's previously unexplained mischief.

Sitting on the opposite end of the sofa, a is young man who appears to be his age, perhaps a year or so younger, with a thin face and dyed blond hair that Kuroo can tell by the exposed dark roots began growing out some time ago, but distinctive physical features aside, this is still someone Kuroo's never seen before in his life, and he has absolutely no idea how he could have gotten in.

The other doesn't seem to be aware of his presence, or simply hasn't bothered to acknowledge him yet, Kuroo's honestly not sure which. He's staring down at the coffee table in front of him, with his gaze trained on Bokuto's handheld game in specific, which he only now realizes is turned on. Taking notice of the scent still lingering in the air, he glances to the side a bit, only to have his suspicions confirmed with the sight of yet another open apple-flavored fruit pie right next to the game.

The man appears to be transfixed on the game; even from this angle, Kuroo can see lights flashing on the screen, as if the console's being played without needing to be touched, which absolutely doesn't make any sense to him. But then again, he's never really paid attention to the start-up screen on these things, and he's also not one to judge or think anything of the fact that he doesn't look like he's not actually playing it.

At first, Kuroo considers leaving the other be for now. He's not really hurting anything, and he seems so laser-focused on the game he's not even playing that perhaps he should let it go. Of course, that thought lasts for all of two seconds when Kuroo realizes that harmful or not, this man has still broken into his house, and he needs to do something about it. The thought to call the police never crosses his mind; somehow, he knows he'll be able to handle this himself.

"So, you're the one draining the batteries in Bo's game," he begins, causing the other man to look up from the video game, and slowly turn to Kuroo, finally giving him some recognition, "and opening, but not eating my fruit pies."

The other man just stares at him without saying a word, and Kuroo decides it's best to keep talking.

"How did you get in here?" Amazingly enough, he finds that his morbid curiosity outweighs the fact that there's an intruder in his house.

"I live here," he says simply.

"I beg your pardon?" At first, Kuroo's thinks perhaps he hasn't heard him correctly, because there's simply no possible way someone other than he Bokuto inhibit this house. His intrusive thoughts supply him with the notion, that sure, logistically speaking it's possible, given the overabundance of guest rooms this place as, but realistically, if some random stranger had snuck into their house, surely, he or Bokuto would have noticed this before.

The other man continues to watch him without saying anything more. Kuroo gathers that his inner conflictions must be apparent from the look on his face, because the next thing he knows, the man is looking back at the table, and reaching for the apple pie, as if he's going to eat it for once, but as he motions to grab the snack, his hand ends up going through it, leaving Kuroo wide-eyed and thoroughly shocked. He hadn't said a word, but that one simple gesture had explained everything to him, and just like that it all clicked into place.

"Holy-" he cuts himself off. "Bo was right!" Kuroo understands he should probably be afraid right now, or at least be a little unnerved with by the fact that there is a legitimate ghost in their home, but despite the evidence, Kuroo can't seem to conjure up an ounce of panic, and he finds himself more fascinated than anything else. He feels like his entire body shaking with excitement; even though he'd never believed in the supernatural until it was thrown in his face like this, he'd always been enchanted with the prospect. And now that it's finally happening, in his own home no less, he's not even sure where to begin, or how to contain himself.

The ghost continues to watch him with his intense yellow eyes, as if he's the one who has reason to be intimidated by Kuroo's presence. Somehow, he gets the impression that he might vanish on him if he gets too enthusiastic, so with a little bit of effort, Kuroo takes a deep breath and calms himself down, hoping that the ghost won't see him as a threat.

After finally settling down, Kuroo finds his voice. "I have so many questions, but first," he pauses, remembering Bokuto's initial reservations about having phantoms in the house, "are you evil?" he doesn't know how else to ask, so he just says it point blank. "It's just that Bo and I kinda talked about the possibility, and we sorta came to the consensus that we're not cool with malicious ghosts in the house, so you know, it's only fair to give us the heads up."

The ghost gives him a look that suggests he deeply regrets every decision in death he's ever made that's led him to this point. "Do playing your video games and opening your fruit pies constitute as evil?"

Kuroo has to think about that one. Sure, he and Bo had been blaming each other for forgetting to turn off the game console and draining battery life and wasting perfectly good snacks, but the resulting banter was always playful and lighthearted, so he really can't say there'd been any real harm done.

"I guess not," Kuroo finally replies, giving the ghost a suspicious look nonetheless.

"Well then you can relax, because I can't be bothered to do much more 'haunting' than that."

"You have a name?" When the ghost only responds with a look that Kuroo thinks might be uncertainty, or even nervousness, he thinks better of the question, and decides to introduce himself first. "I'm Kuroo."

"I know," "You are Kuroo Tetsurou, and your husband's name is Bokuto Koutarou."

Even though he'd taken the liberty of introducing himself, the knowledge that he knows who they are doesn't come as a surprise to Kuroo. After all, he's had a few weeks to watch and learn about them, and now that he really thinks about it, he realizes this ghost honestly hasn't done anything that would constitute as a real 'haunting', which default puts him in the 'friendly' category, meaning he wouldn't have to figure out whether the Ghostbusters were real.

"My name is Kenma," the ghost's voice is soft, yet it's still enough to break Kuroo out of his inner musings. "Kozume Kenma."

"Ah ha!" Kuroo declares, feeling triumphant for learning his name. "It's nice to meet you, Kenma," he figures it's acceptable to use his first name, as it's the name he'd been told first. Out of habit, Kuroo reaches out his hand to shake Kenma's only to realize his mistake seconds later when Kenma quirks an eyebrow up at him, giving him a look that says, 'You're kidding me, right?'

"Eh, sorry about that," Kuroo quickly retracts his hand and stuffs it into his pocket before continuing his inquiry.

"I'm also sorry about all the weird questions, but for Bo's peace of mind, I have to ask one more." When Kenma doesn't give him an odd look or directly refuse to answer him, he asks: "You don't happen to have three evil uncles who have been scheming to get us this whole time, do you?" He expects a well-deserved look of supreme judgement his way, but amazingly enough, aside from a hint of confusion glimmering his eyes, making it apparent the reference has been lost on him, Kenma's expression remains neutral.

"There's only two of us here."

As surprising as this new revelation is, Kuroo's far too interested to let his astonishment be known. "Oh really. Where's the-"

Before he can finish the question, the unmistakable sound of the front door being thrown open causes him to lose sight of the topic, and he redirects his attention elsewhere.

"Bro! I'm home!" Bokuto sounds as elated as ever as Kuroo hears him kick off his shoes at the doorway and throwing his briefcase off to the side.

"In here!" Normally, he'd go out to greet Bokuto and welcome him home properly, but given the circumstances, he needs Bokuto to join them in here.

Not even a second later, Bokuto comes bouncing down the hallway, jumping to an abrupt halt once he reaches the living room. No sooner has he stepped passed the threshold before Kuroo's waving him over.

"Look Bro, look I found the ghost!"

Bokuto stops dead in his tracks, donning a quizzical expression as he examines the scene before him. While he didn't know what kind of expression he could expect from Bokuto, he'd thought he'd get something along the lines of 'See, I was right!' followed him subjecting Kenma to the same slew of questions he'd asked moments ago, and not as much silence.

"Where is he?" he finally asks.

"What do you mean, he's right-" Turning to the side, he moves his hands to gesture to Kenma, only to realize he's no longer there. Blinking a couple of times, Kuroo pulls back a couch cushion on pure instinct, as if he thinks Kenma could have somehow hidden under there. "He was here a second ago."

The look of skepticism is all too apparent on Bokuto's face, and not knowing what else to do, Kuroo climbs to his knees on the sofa and looks behind it in one last ditch effort to locate Kenma.

"Really he was!" Kuroo tries again, knowing how bad this looks.

"You're just trying to scare me, Kuroo," Bokuto pouts a bit, crossing his arms over his chest, as if he thinks Kuroo's gone a bit too far in his teasing. Kuroo will be the first to admit he loves playing a good prank on his husband from time to time, but joking about something he knows frightens Bokuto really is crossing the line.

"I am not!" he exclaims, fruitlessly gesturing back and forth between the spot Kenma should be occupying and Bokuto, as if he expects some excessive hand-waving magic to bring Kenma back.

"Sure, sure," Bokuto waves him off before giving him an easy-going grin. "'S my turn to make dinner, right?"

As much as he wants to prove to Bokuto that he's not making this up, he knows he can't really do anything if Kenma refuses to show himself. With a sigh of resignation, Kuroo decides to drop the subject. It already looks like he's trying to play an unfair trick on Bokuto, and he doesn't want to make it worse, especially since Bokuto's decided to let it go as well.

"Yeah, want some help?" he asks.

"Naw, I got this." Bokuto replies, reaching up to kiss the palm of his hand before blowing it in Kuroo's direction. "You just stay beautiful and be ready to be wowed by my awesome spaghetti-making skills~"

"My two best talents," Kuroo snickers before blowing a kiss back to Bokuto.

"I know." Bokuto wiggles his eyebrows in a playful manner before heading back out into the hallway. "Love you, Tetsu," he calls back as he disappears from Kuroo's line of vision.

"Love you too, Kou," Kuroo returns the sentiment, completely forgetting about whatever they'd been talking about before, that is, until he's reminded by the sound of a soft voice that's already become familiar to him.

"Idea." It takes a second for Kuroo to realize Kenma is finishing the statement he was trying to make before being interrupted by Bokuto's arrival, but when he does, he immediately turns into the direction from which Kenma's voice is coming from, only find Kenma sitting in the exact same spot and position he had been a moment ago, as if he'd been there the entire time.

"Yeah, guess not," Kuroo blinks twice, and then once more, and when Kenma's still right in front of him, he decides that he is in fact not seeing things, and slowly slides a bit closer to Kenma. "Why did you disappear earlier?"

"I never left." Kenma diverts his gaze back to the handheld game, as if that's good enough of an answer, but Kuroo won't let him drop the subject that easily.

"When I called Bo over to meet you, you vanished the second he stepped into the room," he rephrases, hoping Kenma's still willing to talk.

Kenma doesn't look up from the game, nor acknowledge his inquiry at first. His gaze remains fixated on the console, and a few moments of silence pass before Kuroo assumes that he's lost Kenma's attention entirely, and not wanting to offend or pushing him away, he decides to let the conversation go for now, thinking maybe after getting to know each other better he'll open up to him a bit about the 'ghost rules' he apparently follows.

"I don't know why," the sound of Kenma's voice startles him a bit, but for the most part, he's able to remain calm and give Kenma his undivided attention, "but I wasn't able to control it."

He can't help but raise an eyebrow in slight disbelief. "You can disappear unintentionally like that?"

"Sometimes," Kenma finally looks back up at Kuroo, but doesn't elaborate further.

"That's," Kuroo pauses for a second, trying to find the appropriate word to describe this, but soon decides only one word properly conveys his mixed feelings on this, "interesting."

Kenma simply shrugs before refocusing his attention on Bokuto's game console.

"Bo's a nice guy, you know?"

"I know." With such a simple response, Kuroo's not sure if Kenma's trying to get him to drop the subject, or if he's avoiding the topic for a reason he's not aware of.

"Will you meet him sometime?" Kuroo tries once more, deciding to get to the heart of the matter.

"I'm not sure that will ever be possible. Bokuto's too much like him." If Kuroo's not mistaken, there's a melancholic note in his voice, and Kuroo knows right then and there to not press the matter further, at least not while they're still getting acquainted.

To change the subject, Kuroo scoots a bit closer to Kenma and redirects his attention on the game, only to find out that Kenma has gone well beyond the start screen, and is currently working on levels he hasn't seen Bo accomplish yet, all without laying so much as a finger on the console.

"How are you playing the game without touching it?" he wonders out loud.

"Telekinesis." Again, Kenma answers him without bothering to look up.

Kuroo's eyes light up in pure awe. He thinks that this is perhaps one of the neatest things he's ever seen, and the urge to bombard him with questions about the intricacies of 'ghosthood' comes to the forefront of his mind, but he manages to stop himself before he says something without thinking it through first.

"That's neat," he says after a while, trying to manage a neutral, nonchalant tone in an attempt to play it cool. After all, the last thing he wants is for Kenma to disappear on him again, and he's not completely sure of how this works. He doesn't dwell on that for too long, however, and instead finds himself thinking of ways to make things easier for Kenma.

"Think you could change the batteries on that thing if I left spares out for you?" he asks as soon as the notion crosses his mind.

The flashing on the console screen comes to a stop, and Kenma looks back up at him. "You'd do that for me?" From Kenma's tone of voice, Kuroo can tell that he's genuinely surprised he would offer him something like that.

"Sure, I would," a playful grin spreads across his face. "Wouldn't want you to get bored enough to start haunting us for real."

The corners of Kenma's lips turn upwards in a small, yet genuine smile, and Kuroo absent-mindedly finds himself hoping to make him smile like that more often.

"I'm sorry about wasting your snacks," Kenma says after a bit, turning back to the game, giving Kuroo the impression he feels bad about it. "I just like the smell."

"It's no big deal," Kuroo assures him. "Like you said before, if this is as bad as the 'haunting' gets, then really I've got nothing to complain about."

The smile remains on Kenma's face, but he doesn't say anything more, and Kuroo lets him play the video game in peace for a little while before standing up and padding over to the doorway, deciding he's neglected Bokuto enough for one night.

"See you around then," he says with a small grin before leaving Kenma to his game for the night.

After the initial encounter, Kenma starts making his presence known more often. At first, Kuroo tries to keep their conversations light and casual, as not to upset or make Kenma uncomfortable, and gradually, Kuroo finds that his patience is awarded when Kenma starts to open up to a bit more.

The question of how Kenma died, and why he's now a ghost bound to this house has crossed Kuroo's mind on more than one occasion, but he's always been too afraid to ask. He's not certain if there's some sort of boundary he's not allowed to cross, but one day, when Kenma grows silent after Kuroo tries to ask about the second ghost who was briefly mentioned twice before, Kuroo decides that there is in fact, a line somewhere. As much as he wants to know about Kenma's past and the other ghost, Kenma's well-being is so much more important to him, and that alone prevents him from ever asking too much. He thinks that maybe one day Kenma will trust him enough to open up about it, if only a little bit.

What he doesn't expect, however, is to find out in a way that results in him coming home one night, only to discover Bokuto in a distraught mess of tears, jumping into his arms for comfort, sobbing uncontrollably as he tells him the most tragic story he's ever heard in his life.

* * *

He's been watching Bokuto for quite a while now. Of course, he knows how creepy that sounds, but all honestly, he can't help it. From overhearing the house's newest occupants' conversations and countless hours of observation, he feels as if he knows both Bokuto Koutarou and Kuroo Tetsurou personally, almost like they've all been friends since childhood.

The mere notion has his eyes rolling.

While he's learned so much over the past few months, perhaps the bit of information he finds most interesting is the fact that Kenma's already introduced himself to Kuroo, but can't reveal himself to Bokuto. Furthermore, from what he understands, Kenma's been less than forthcoming regarding the past, and Kuroo's not the type to push him out of his comfort zone.

If he could make himself known to Kuroo (he's already tried once and failed, which only furthers his suspicions), he'd thank Kuroo from the bottom of his heart for being so good to Kenma. While Kenma is a strong individual and most certainly doesn't really need Kuroo to be so careful around him, he's grateful nonetheless, simply because Kuroo seems to understand him in a way that others (aside from himself) don't.

Part of him wishes Kenma would be a bit more forward with Kuroo, but he knows all too well that such a thing is a lot to ask, given how delicate their situation really is. He doesn't fault Kenma for his reserved nature, but at the same time, he knows he has to be the one to move things forward.

Which brings him back to the situation at hand, and reminds him of why he's been rather cautious with Bokuto, choosing to watch and learn everything there is know about him before making himself known. The longer he continues to study Bokuto, the more he realizes he's grown quite fond of him in a relatively short amount of time. Not being one to take any joy in scaring others unless for some reason they deserve it (because while he knows Kenma to be somewhat playful, when angered he can get rather feisty, making him the reason the house has been labeled 'haunted' for the past several years), he's grown used to ignoring people and keeping to himself for the most part.

But there's something special about Bokuto and Kuroo that he can't quite place. He knows Kenma can sense it too, as this has been the first time either of them has revealed themselves to a human. Kenma's already established a connection with Kuroo, just as he has with Bokuto, the only difference being that Bokuto has yet to be informed. Eventually, he decides it's time to finally rectify that.

He finds Bokuto upstairs in his and Kuroo's bedroom one evening, sorting through old clothes. He can't help but notice that Bokuto and Kuroo seem to own more clothing than they could possibly need in three lifetimes, and from the way Bokuto seems to be examining each article, only to carelessly throw the item into one of two piles seconds later, he gets the impression Bokuto might be thinking the same.

"That one's a bit too flashy, don't you think?" He decides to intervene when Bokuto appears to be debating with himself over a way too fancy dress shirt adorned with so many sequins that it's almost painful to look at.

His expression remains calm and neutral as he watches Bokuto's body go rigid at first, but ever so slowly, Bokuto eventually turns around to face him, dropping the shirt as he does so.

"Who are you?" There's more surprise in Bokuto's voice than anything else, which simplifies the situation a bit. He'd rather not go through an entire spiel about how he's not a home invader, and how there's no reason to get the authorities involved.

Deciding to cut to the chase and skip the even more tedious conversation about being a ghost, he glides, rather than pretending like he needs to walk, over to Bokuto, intentionally going through the larger pile of clothing he hopes is meant to be donated away, before settling himself in the middle of the bed in the lotus position, hovering a centimeter just above the comforter.

"Relax," he interjects before Bokuto has a chance to say anything. To get his little 'trick' out of the way, he looks over to a stack of interior design magazines he knows Bokuto's been leafing through, and with a single thought, he has the top publication flying over to the bed and letting it fall right in front of him. "I can't bring you any harm."

"Not even with your telekinetic powers?" Bokuto asks, incredulousness lacing his voice.

His eyes roll so far into the back of his head that he's almost afraid they'll get stuck. "Okay," he tries again, "I won't hurt you."

"You promise?" As to be expected, Bokuto still seems rather leery of him, but the doubt in his voice has already started to wane.

"Mmhmm," he nods.

He's not sure if Bokuto really believes him or not, but nevertheless, he moves on. "Are you the ghost Kuroo's been talking about?" He falls silent for a moment, and he can tell he's trying to remember Kenma's name.

"Kenma?" he finally asks.

"No, I am not Kenma." He's surprised that he's able to say his name without his voice cracking.

"But you know Kenma?"

"Yes." He really hopes he'll stop saying Kenma's name soon.

"Then who are you?" Bokuto asks, finally steering the conversation in a direction he's prepared for.

"Akaashi," he says, "Akaashi Keiji."

"It's nice to meet you, Akaashi," Bokuto smiles, padding over to the bed and taking a seat next to him. "I'm Bokuto Koutarou."

"I know," he says, earning himself a nervous look from Bokuto. "I've been watching you for a while," he adds without hesitation, not seeing any reason to lie.

"Should I be weirded out by that?"

"No." Akaashi's response is cool and casual. Quite frankly, he saw nothing strange about observing Bokuto without his knowledge until now. "I only wanted to get to know you a bit before introducing myself."

"And you couldn't just talk to me?" It's a fair question, he admits.

"This was easier." He knows Bokuto deserves a better explanation than that. After all, he's certainly had enough time to think about what he wanted to discuss, but now that he's finally made himself known, and is sitting next to Bokuto, whom he finds far more calming than he'd imagined he would, he can't seem to recall anything he'd thought about and planned to explain. It appears to be going well enough, however, especially since Bokuto has plenty of questions for him.

"You don't by any chance have three evil uncles, do you?" Again, there's a hint of nervousness in Bokuto's voice, but it's different than before. Rather than a sense of anxiousness or fear, it feels like Bokuto might be embarrassed. Akaashi doesn't know why, but he assumes it stems from the question he just asked. The inquiry itself makes absolutely no sense to him, it's probably a reference of some sort that goes over his head, but he doesn't allow himself to dwell on the details for very long.

"Kenma and I are the only two ghosts that live here," Akaashi says after a moment, surprised with himself for having just said his name so easily without thinking about it first. He knows he's making a bigger deal out of this than he should, but for him to talk like this, to be able to say Kenma's name without choking on tears says a lot to him about who Bokuto is as a person, and how much he can confide in him.

"Do you talk to Kenma a lot?"

Seems he spoke too soon. As it turns out, saying and hearing Kenma's name is entirely different from being asked questions regarding his relationship with Kenma.

"No." He tries his best to keep his composure, he really does, but in spite of his best efforts, something he can't get rid of catches in his throat. Thankfully, Bokuto's expression softens in a way that lets him know that while he doesn't quite understand, he's sympathetic enough to not press the matter.

Instead, Bokuto gives him a bright smile. "Kuroo should be home soon, I really want you to meet him."

"I can't do that," he says far too quickly for his answer to seem casual.

"Why not?" Bokuto's question is automatic and entirely warranted.

"It's difficult to explain." Bokuto doesn't respond to that, but nevertheless, Akaashi takes that as a hint to at least try.

"He and Kenma," Akaashi begins, but stops for a moment, as if he's not sure of how to explain this. "They're too similar."

"What's that have to do with anything?" Again, Bokuto's inquiry is entirely valid, but Akaashi finds himself at a loss for words. No matter how much he's thought about this or practiced this exact scenario in his mind, he can't bring himself to move forward and feels like he could break down at any moment. He realizes just how much of a mistake this is, and while he has the strength to not run away, he tries to divert his gaze away from Bokuto's, not wanting look at those bright yellow eyes that remind him so much of Kenma's.

"Hey," Bokuto looks like he wants to reach out to him, and Akaashi almost wishes he could, "you can talk to me, you know? I won't tell anyone," a pause, "no one except for Kuroo," he corrects himself.

"I don't want to scare you off." Akaashi bites his lip, still refusing to look in Bokuto's direction. He's had no choice but to keep silent about all of this for so long, and now that he finally has the chance to talk with someone like Bokuto, who's pure of heart and he knows he can confide in, he can't help but think it'll be too much.

"You ever gonna try to hurt me or Kuroo?"

"Of course not," he replies with the utmost sincerity.

"Then you won't," Bokuto responds matter-of-factly, and somehow such confidence gives him the push he so desperately needs to carry on. Taking a deep, calming breath, he tries again.

"A few decades ago, this house wasn't one unit, or rather, it wasn't marketed as such. It used to be rented out as two separate apartments, with the first floor as one flat, and the second floor as the other."

Bokuto gives him an odd, questioning look. "The upstairs isn't designed to be a living space on its own. How would you get by without a kitchen?"

"Ah, that's right," Akaashi snapped his fingers together as he recalled the answer, "The original landowners were having a terrible time renting two apartments when word that their building was haunted spread, so they decided to remodel the place about ten years back and make it a single home, figuring it would be easier to find one buyer rather than two faithful tenants." With food being entirely unnecessary for him, he'd thought nothing of it when the wall between his kitchen and dining room had been torn down and the rooms combined into an open concept living room space, which seemed to be the popular thing to do in the remodeling business currently, if the pictures he'd seen in Bokuto's magazines were anything to go by.

"All right," Bokuto nods his head, accepting Akaashi's explanation. "So, this house used to be divided into two apartments," he falls silent for a minute, to Akaashi, it looks like he might be trying to piece together the information he already knows from Kuroo with what he's just been told.

"Were you and Kenma neighbors, then?" he asks after a moment.

"That's correct," Akaashi nods in confirmation. He's about to explain in detail when Bokuto starts up again.

"Kuroo's always downstairs when I thought I'd heard him talking to himself, but if you're here, that means he really was talking to Kenma - man I probably owe him an apology, huh?" Raising a hand, Bokuto runs his fingers through the back of his hair, making his embarrassment over the situation known to Akaashi.

"Surely, he'll understand," Akaashi tries, figuring it won't be that big of a deal, given what he knows about Kuroo.

"Yeah," Bokuto smiles a bit before redirecting his attention back to the situation at hand, "so, continuing that thought, it's probably safe to say Kenma lived on the first floor, and you lived on the second?"

"Yes," Akaashi nods. "We were both rather introverted by nature, and had a difficult time interacting with others, but amazingly enough, there was this instant connection between us. Something beautiful and pure, and all around amazing. I can't even begin to convey to you the extent of my happiness whenever he was around. I just," he stops for a moment, allowing every loving memory he has of Kenma to wash over him. "I just love him so much."

Bokuto doesn't respond at first, but his eyes are shining with absolute joy for him, and Akaashi can tell then and there that he can relate to his feelings for Kenma, because he doubtlessly feels the exact same for Kuroo.

"Um," Bokuto's voice takes a tone that's much softer than Akaashi's ever heard from him, "it's okay if you don't want to talk about it, but this doesn't have a happy ending, does it?" Bokuto bites his bottom lip, and if Akaashi's not mistaken, there's already a flash of regret running through his eyes. "I mean, you and Kenma probably wouldn't be ghosts, and Kuroo's and my apparent likenesses to Kenma and yourself surely wouldn't matter unless something else is going on."

"I-we-" something catches in his throat before he can continue. This is the part he'd had the most difficult with when rehearsing how he wanted this conversation to go; during his practice, he'd always managed to get through it, but now, with Bokuto right in front of him, Akaashi feels like he's trying to say all of this for the first time. He knows Bokuto's right, that he doesn't have to discuss this further, but as tempting as that offer is, it's been far too long, and he can't take the silence for much longer. After a deep, calming breath, he finds the strength to carry on. While he'd long since lost the human requirement for oxygen, he found the motions to be soothing, and therefore still acted as if he needed it too.

"After getting together, we didn't bother moving in with each other or anything, and instead kind of just rearranged things so the two apartments were one, and that seemed to work out well," he trails off, attempting to collect his thoughts and keep his composure.

"That seems a lot easier," Bokuto agrees, "and it is really nice house."

"Right," Akaashi replies, taking a shaky breath, "like I said, things were perfect until," he tries to keep talking, the words are right there on the tip of his tongue, but he can't bring himself to voice them.

To his chagrin, his inner turmoil must have begun to show, because before he can react, Bokuto's reaching out to him. "Akaashi," mild surprise flickers through Bokuto's eyes when his hand goes straight through his and lands on the mattress, as he'd forgotten Akaashi was a ghost.

"Erm, sorry about that," he offers him an apologetic smile while retracting his hand. "Really, it's okay, you don't have to do this."

"No, it's fine." Again, his response is way too fast to be believable, but he's not about to back out of this now. "Things were fine, until," he repeated himself, taking another breath he doesn't really need, "until the night I came home to find Kenma on the floor in a pool of his own blood."

Bokuto eyes go so wide that they almost look like they could pop out of his head, and Akaashi can't help but note that Bokuto's reacting exactly like he expected he would, which means at least one thing's going as planned.

"Are you telling me Kenma was murdered?" It's not the most tactful way to put it, but he's grateful Bokuto's capable of putting two and two together so that he doesn't have to say it.

Akaashi nods, unable to say anything else for a long while, but when he does, his voice is weak and broken, but at this point he really can't help it. "The police conducted a thorough investigation, but without any leads, and with forensic science being as poor as it was back then, the case eventually went cold. Even my own tireless efforts amounted to nothing, and it got to the point where I just," another shaky breath, "I just couldn't take it any longer, and lost the will to live." Akaashi doesn't explain further, but he can see that Bokuto understands what he's trying to say without having to go into detail. "I know that sounds incredibly dramatic, but it's the truth."

"No, I get it," Bokuto cuts in. His expression is and warm and full of understanding, confirming once and for all that Akaashi was right about him. "I don't know what I'd do if I ever lost Kuroo, nor can I bear to think about it," he pauses for a second, and Akaashi can see that even thinking about life without Kuroo is something he isn't prepared to handle. "He's my light."

"As Kenma is mine." Akaashi nods in complete understanding.

"So, you can't see Kenma at all?" Bokuto asks with a distinct note of hesitancy in his voice.

"That's the worst part of it," Akaashi breathes a heavy sigh, trying to recompose himself. While part of him feels relieved for having Bokuto to talk to like this, he hadn't realized that opening up like this would be quite so painful. He wants to explain himself, he really does. The desire to talk plagues his soul like a chronic disease, the feeling is omnipresent, always gnawing at his mind and threatening to devour his sanity bit by bit, and until now, there was nothing he could do to stop it.

"Come with me," he finally says, somehow managing to keep himself together. "I'll show you."

He doesn't wait for Bokuto's reply before standing up and gliding over to the door. When he's halfway there, he thinks better of his actions and forces himself to move his legs in a way that makes it look as he's walking, simply to slow his movements and give Bokuto the chance to follow. Soon enough, the soft pitter patter of footsteps lightly treading across the floorboards approaching him; knowing that he's not alone for once in his anguished existence gives him the comfort he so desperately needs to keep going, and allows him to continue through the threshold of the bedroom and down the hallway without looking back.

Before he can stop to think about what he's doing, he finds himself at the top of the staircase, looking down at an empty foyer, with Bokuto just a few paces behind.

"What do you want me to see?" The hesitancy in Bokuto's voice does not escape him.

"Nothing," Akaashi answers simply. "I know it's hard to believe, but I need you to trust me on this."

Within a couple of minutes, the feeling that they're not alone begins to tap at his senses, the heart he no longer has but can still feel stops when the aura he knows all too well approaches them, bringing Kenma into his line of vision just seconds later. Their gazes meet instantly, desperately trying to communicate their eternal love for each other, only to be kept separated by less than ten meters.

With his attention entirely devoted to Kenma, he nearly forgets Bokuto is standing next to him, that is until he hears him idly shuffling his feet against the carpet.

"You can't see him, correct?" he asks quietly.

"You mean Kenma?" Bokuto's voice is equally as soft, giving Akaashi the impression that knows how difficult this is for him.

Akaashi nods. This time he's unable to keep silent tears from running down his cheek. "He's standing at the foot of the staircase," he raises his hand out in a futile attempt to reach out for Kenma, "but this is as far as I can go." To prove his point, he tries to step forward onto the step below, only to be stopped by an invisible force, letting his hand fall back to his side in defeat as well. "And it's the same for him."

"Can he hear us?"

"Only you." His voice is weaker than before, but he manages an answer nonetheless.

"But why?"

"Because this house was still divided in our time, he died in his home, and I died in mine. We can see each other, but that's it, no contact, nor communication." He doesn't elaborate further; he assumes that by knowing the circumstances of their deaths, Bokuto will be able to figure out why they're trapped here and confined to the space they inhabit, and thankfully, the glimmer of understanding shining in Bokuto's eyes proves just that. By now, the immense gravity of the situation seems to have settled itself on Bokuto's shoulders, and if Akaashi's not mistaken, Bokuto looks like he wants to cry just as badly has he does. His eyes are brimming with tears while his fingers twitch uncontrollably as if he's trying to stop himself from attempting to grab ahold of Akaashi's spiritual form and pulling him into the warmest of hugs.

Fortunately for them both, before Bokuto can lose his internal struggle and reach out for him, the front door that's right in front of the staircase flies open, revealing none other than Kuroo, who's coming back from work, just has Bokuto had said earlier. His gaze, along with Kenma's, drifts over to Kuroo; with an air of elegance, he's shutting the door behind him and kicking his shoes off, all the while looking up at Bokuto, his eyes sparkling with happiness as he steps further into the house.

"Miss me, Bo?" The corner of his mouth turns upwards in a lopsided smirk.

"Kuroo!" Before he knows what's going on, Bokuto is soaring passed him and flying down the stairs as fast as he can go. He has so much momentum built up by the time he reaches the first floor that he's almost surprised Kuroo doesn't get the wind knocked out of him when Bokuto throws himself into his arms, finally letting his tears fall once Kuroo has a secure hold on him.

"Kou," the smile that had fallen from his face the second he saw Bokuto barreling towards him is immediately replaced with a look of total concern as he pulls back from Bokuto a bit, looking back into his eyes and clearly trying to make sense of everything. "Kou what's wrong?"

Akaashi doesn't hear the rest of the conversation. He assumes Bokuto's desperately trying to recall the information Akaashi had shared with him and tell Kuroo everything he'd learned through broken sobs. He notices how Kuroo's expression doesn't change while listening, as if Bokuto's well-being is the only thing he has on his mind.

As much as he hates the fact that he can't do the same with Kenma, he can't help but take comfort in the fact that these two won't suffer like this. Even if by some cruel twist of fate their deaths are equally as tragic, and their souls become trapped here as well, the building and the land that comes with it are all one now, and they won't be bound by the same wicked rules that torture Kenma and himself with each passing second.

Amazingly enough, that thought is enough to bring a smile to his face. Glancing down at Kenma, he sees the exact same expression, and even without the ability to communicate, he knows Kenma feels the same way. The knowledge alone gives him the strength to keep going, and the motivation he needs to set his plan in action.

* * *

After Bokuto's initial encounter with Akaashi, things appear to settle down, at least from Kuroo's perspective. He has yet to come home to find Bokuto in tears again, in fact, more often than not, on the days he has to work later than Bokuto, he finds himself coming home to the sound of Bokuto's hearty laughter echoing from the upstairs. Lately, he notices that Kenma's usually around to greet him when he returns, and since it always seems like Bokuto's enjoying himself with Akaashi, Kuroo decides that there's no harm in letting Bokuto continue with Akaashi while he chats with Kenma for a while.

Their conversations normally don't last more than an hour or two before Kuroo decides to check in on Bokuto, or Bokuto comes downstairs to find him. Once that happens, however, it's almost like an unspoken rule that it's time for each other now, which seems to work out well. Sometimes Kuroo finds it odd that they don't really talk to each other about the conversations they have with Kenma and Akaashi. Once in a while, Bokuto might point out a random fact about the house Akaashi told him about, but aside from that, they usually have their own things to talk about that are just for them. While it feels strange to live like they have their own separate friends that never interact with the other, Kuroo eventually decides that given the circumstances, it's probably for the best. Furthermore, the fact that Akaashi and Kenma are almost never a topic of conversation between them gives him a sense of security and comfort, like they're able to maintain some sort of normalcy in their lives, even while living with two heartbroken ghosts.

Even so, sometimes Kuroo gets the feeling Bokuto wants to tell him something, but is unsure of how to go about it. It's always a subtle occurrence, a lull in conversation where Bokuto grows quiet, pensive even, like he has something on the tip of his tongue that he needs to get out, but every time Kuroo asks him about it, the contemplative look in Bokuto's gaze fades away, only to be replaced with a spark of mischievousness that dances in his eyes right before he pounces Kuroo back onto the sofa, the bed, the ground, or wherever he is, proceeding to kiss him senseless until Kuroo forgets all about whatever he'd thought previously.

Nevertheless, that lingering air of wariness still makes itself known from time to time, and finally, one chilly day at the end of October, his suspicions bear fruit.

"Hey bro?" Bokuto calls out to him as he's descending the stairs and heading towards the living room, where Kuroo once again finds himself curled up while reading his latest science fiction novel. The realization that he hasn't seen Kenma at all today does not strike him as Bokuto enters the room, making a beeline straight for him and snuggling with him in a matter of seconds, causing him to set his book off to the side without remembering to mark the page he's on first.

"Something on your mind, bro?" Kuroo asks while pulling Bokuto closer to him and placing a chaste kiss on his cheek.

"I," Bokuto's gaze shifts to the side for a second before coming back to meet Kuroo's. "I've been thinking about Akaashi and Kenma."

Kuroo blinks, unsure of what to think. He still can't recall a time they've actually discussed their 'housemates' outside of when Bokuto first met Akaashi and told Kuroo everything he knew while battling a fit of uncontrollable tears.

"What about them?" he asks after a moment, trying his best to handle the topic in a way that won't cause Bokuto any pain.

"Just, you know," Bokuto maneuvers in his spot, pulling away from Kuroo a bit and turning towards him so he can face him properly. "About their situation, and how this horrible curse thing keeps them apart."

"Oh," he lets slip before he has a chance to stop himself. So much for trying to keep the conversation light, but now that it's out there, he supposes it's safe to discuss for now. "Kenma doesn't really like to talk about the past, so I don't really know anything other than what you've shared with me via Akaashi."

"Akaashi thought that might be the case," Bokuto nods slowly. "He doesn't talk much about it either, and it's hard to ask about something like that, you know?"

"Right," Kuroo agrees. "Kenma goes silent on me if I so much as mention you're upstairs talking to Akaashi, and I just don't want rub salt in his wounds."

"Sometimes Akaashi will ask about how Kenma's doing, but I always have to tell him that I've never discussed him with you." Bokuto falls silent for a moment as he watches Kuroo a with uncertainty written all over his face. "Is this something we can talk about?" He asks after a few moments.

He's almost relieved to know that he's not the only one who's noticed their odd, almost secretive behavior concerning Kenma and Akaashi. "I think so," Kuroo replies, "kinda feels weird that we haven't been doing that all along."

"But at the same time, it felt like talking about them would've broken some sort of unspoken rule?" It's clear from Bokuto's tone that he's asking Kuroo if he got the same impression.

"That's exactly what it feels like." He's taken by a strange sense of giddiness, finding comfort in the knowledge that Bokuto really gets him. He realizes this revelation shouldn't come as a surprise, they've always had a supreme level of understanding with each other, but for reasons unknown or suspicions Kuroo doesn't want to say out loud, Kuroo had nearly forgotten what it felt like to confide with Bokuto.

"I want to be able to talk with you about anything," Bokuto says flat out, reaching over to take ahold of Kuroo's hand.

"You always can, Bo," he responds automatically, giving Bokuto's hand a small, reassuring squeeze before bringing it up to his lips and placing a kiss on the back of it.

The smile Bokuto gives him lets him know he feels secure about their situation. "So Akaashi and Kenma," he starts again, getting back on topic, "they haven't been you know," letting go of Kuroo's hand, he makes some sort of odd gesture that's somehow supposed to convey what he's trying to say, but ends up making Kuroo tilt his head to the side in confusion.

"Together?" Kuroo finally takes a guess at what Bokuto's attempting to tell him with the most bizarre impromptu game of charades he's ever witnessed.

"Yes!" Bokuto exclaims, snapping his fingers together and ceasing his arm motions, settling down a bit. "Together, in a long time, and I guess I keep thinking about how awful it would feel to be so close to you, yet never get to actually touch you or speak to you ever again, and it scares the hell out of me," he trails off, averting his gaze from Kuroo, as if he's embarrassed to admit that.

"Bo," his voice is soft as he scoots closer to Bokuto and secures his arms around him in a warm embrace. "I know how terrifying that would be, but you know their situation was different, not technically living in the same home and all."

"What kind of good forsaken curse has this sort of stipulation? It doesn't make any sense!" Within a matter of seconds, Bokuto's entire demeanor seems to shift from somber to borderline fury, which prompts Kuroo to bring his hands up to card through Bokuto's soft hair, a motion that never fails to soothe him.

"I wish there was something we could do to help them," Kuroo says after Bokuto's started to relax in his hold, not really knowing what else he can say.

Bokuto looks up at that. "There might be something we can do, Akaashi told me about it." Kuroo catches the faintest hint of hesitance in his voice, but he's not sure why.

Giving Bokuto a soft smile, he leans in a bit to kiss his cheek, a silent way of assuring him that it's going to be all right. "Let's hear it then?"

Bokuto continues to watch him for a bit longer before asking: "You know what possession is?"

Kuroo piques an eyebrow at him. "Isn't that when the devil takes control of your body and makes you do all kinds of horrifying shit?"

"That's just in the movies, Kuroo," Bokuto replies, acting like his statement is a fact among facts that everyone should know.

"Is it?" Kuroo's not sure he likes where this conversation is headed.

Now it's Bokuto's turn to give him a look of mild disbelief. "I thought you didn't believe in this sort of thing."

"Well in light of recent events," he trails off, knowing that he doesn't need to finish his thought for Bokuto to understand.

"All right," Bokuto concedes his point before adding not even a second later: "but I'm not talking about the bad kind possession."

"There's a _good_ kind?" Kuroo honestly can't believe a word of what he's hearing right now.

"Sure, there is," Bokuto responds confidently, again making it sound as if his words are well-established facts that Kuroo should have known all along. "We have the good kind of ghosts, so that must mean the good kind of possession."

"Just what are you-" and suddenly it clicks. "You can't be serious."

"It's only possible on the night of Halloween," Bokuto adds as if that's somehow supposed to make everything better.

"No." His answer is firm and resolute, leaving absolutely no room for argument. Or at least, it would, if he'd been discussing with anyone other than Bokuto.

"Why not?" from the way he asks, Kuroo just knows he hasn't considered the potential of there being any negative consequences. "I thought you wanted to help Akaashi and Kenma."

"I do, but this is too much," Kuroo tries to reason. "How could you possibly think this was a good idea?"

"Because it is!" Bokuto's a loud person by nature, but Kuroo doesn't think he's ever heard Bokuto raise his voice to him out of indignation, and he can't stop himself from flinching, especially when Bokuto pulls away from him, standing up and leaving him alone on the couch. Bokuto doesn't seem to catch the subtle movement, however, and keeps going as his eyes begin to darken. "It's one day out of the entire year, Kuroo. It's not much, but can't we give them that?"

"You mean hand over our bodies for a night?" Kuroo tries to remain calm, he really does, but the fact that Bokuto's clearly not listening to him is a little too much to handle. "How can any of this be okay?"

"We'll have them back the next day." Bokuto's certainty is as strong as ever, and Kuroo is starting to believe that he's not going to be able to talk Bokuto out of this one.

"You don't know that." The statement is every bit as feeble as his voice makes it sound, but at this point, he's at a loss.

"Yes, I do. Akaa-"

"Akaashi told you," he cuts Bokuto off, his voice growing more and more bitter with each word that leaves his mouth. "And you believed him?"

"Why wouldn't I?" At this point, Kuroo can't help but wonder what Akaashi must have done or said for Bokuto to have this amount of faith in his words. He usually has to work so damn hard to assure Bokuto that everything will be all right, while Akaashi seems to be capable of giving Bokuto all the support he needs without even trying? That little detail bothers him far more than it has any right to.

"I wasn't aware a dead man's word meant more to you than my feelings." He can feel his own eyes widen in shock the second those words leave his mouth, he'd never meant to say something so heartless, but it's already too late. Bokuto's already reacting before he can say anything else.

"And I wasn't aware of how fucking selfish you are, but I guess it's never too late to learn something new about each other." His voice is so low that Kuroo almost can't hear him, but nevertheless, he still makes out each icy syllable. The darkness that clouds his eyes clears the exact second those words pierce Kuroo's heart. Kuroo can see the anger drain out of his body as the realization of what he just said settles in, but for Kuroo, the damage has already been done, and he's through with listening.

Desperately trying to ignore the anguish that's slowly consuming every fiber of his being, Kuroo stands up and forces himself to take a breath. He can already feel his body starting to shake from the impact of Bokuto's words. He knows they were said in the heat of the moment, and Bokuto doesn't really mean them, but it's not the statement that gets to Kuroo, it's the circumstances of which they were said, coupled with the renewed, steadily growing resentment that's coming off Bokuto in droves.

Bokuto's standing there, clearly expecting him to defend himself or retaliate in some fashion, but he just doesn't have the nerve to fight back. Unlike Bokuto, to appears to be full of adrenaline and ready to stand up for his point, Kuroo feels numb and entirely drained of any desire to argue, he just needs to get out. He doesn't so much as spare Bokuto another glance as he wordlessly begins to walk away.

"Kuroo, wait. I-" At last, Bokuto seems to realize the magnitude of his words. He can feel Bokuto try to reach out to him and he hears the floorboards creak as he takes a step in his direction, but for the very first time, Kuroo doesn't want Bokuto to follow.

"No," once again, Kuroo doesn't let him finish as he turns back toward him, trying his best to mask the unbearable amount of pain he feels swelling in his chest. "You're right." He doesn't say anything else before turning around and continuing to leave the room in total silence, leaving Bokuto alone to his thoughts, something he's never done before.

In that moment, he feels unbearably cold, like his entire world has come crashing down, destroying everything he's ever loved. Logic tells that it's physically impossible, yet Kuroo swears that his heart has come to an abrupt stop and refuses to beat anymore, almost like it's ceased to exist entirely, and there's nothing left to fill the void except an excruciating amount of suffering, the likes of which he's never known.

He's not sure where he's going, at this point his feet are just carrying him down the hallway, until he finds himself in one of the spare bedrooms on the first floor. Kuroo falls face-first onto the mattress once he meets the bed, effectively preventing him from going any further.

Gathering the pillows around him, he covers his head and just screams, letting go of all his frustrations until his voice gives out.

"Kuro?" Kenma's quiet voice is just enough to make him turn over and around and face him, all while still clutching the pillow as if his life depends on it.

"How much did you hear?"

"All of it," Kenma answers quietly, and Kuroo can't tell if Kenma's disappointed in his adamant refusal or not.

"Why didn't you tell me this was a thing?" While he isn't sure his reaction would be any calmer if he'd had any idea Kenma and Akaashi could do this before having Bokuto spring the knowledge on him so suddenly, perhaps the encounter would have gone more smoothly, and maybe he wouldn't have left Bokuto to deal with the aftermath of their argument alone, not that he blamed Kenma for his actions. No, he'd handled the situation in the poorest way possible, and he takes full responsibility.

"It's been so long since I've been comfortable enough to open up to someone, and I didn't want to frighten you," Kenma explains. "I'm not surprised Akaashi said something to Bokuto though."

"Am I really in the wrong here?" he asks, looking up at Kenma, trying to find a trace of resentment, or even anger (surely, he'd deserve it) flickering in those bright eyes of his. Remarkably, he sees none of that, but he does notice a hint of something resembling concern, although he's not sure why. He can't bring himself to think Kenma might be worried about him, especially when he's the one who stands in the way of his reunion with Akaashi.

Kenma shakes his head in the negative. "I'd be scared too."

Kuroo doesn't respond at first. While knowing at least someone in this house doesn't think he's being unreasonable, it doesn't take away from the fact that not only did he just have his first fight with Bokuto, he'd had the nerve to walk out on him. Never in his wildest dreams did he ever think he'd leave his husband, even temporarily, in a state of total anger, but when push came to shove, that's exactly what happened. He wasn't even upset about being called selfish or the initial disagreement anymore, but because he'd let this happen, and how poorly he'd handled it.

"Do you want to see him?" He finally decides to ask outright.

He's not surprised when Kenma turns away from him at that. Kenma won't even respond to him, but in this case, the silence speaks louder than a verbal answer ever could, and Kuroo has his answer. He'd known without even needing to ask, but in a way, Kenma's wordless answer solidifies things for him, and while uncertainty still rages through him, there's at least one thing he needs to do.

"Okay," he says to himself more than anyone else. He's far from having made a real decision on this, but at least now he's not dead set on a 'no' and therefore willing to at least talk it out with Bokuto, whenever he's ready to, that is.

"Bro?" As if right on cue, there's a faint knock on the door before it's slowly opened, allowing Bokuto to pop his head in. Their gazes meet for a second before he looks back, and as he expects, Kenma is nowhere to be found.

"Talking to Kenma?" Bokuto's voice is uncharacteristically quiet, and it makes Kuroo's heart ache even more than before.

"Yeah," he replies simply before sitting up in bed, letting a heavy sigh escape his lips. "Guess we need to talk about this."

"Yeah." Bokuto's voice seems even quieter now, and it terrifies him unlike anything else.

His body acts on its own accord as he leaps to his feet and breaks into a dead sprint in Bokuto's direction. While the circumstances are different, his actions are anything but new, and Bokuto catches him with ease when he jumps into his arms. For the longest time, nothing is said as they hold each other in the tightest embrace of their lives, telling each other just how much they adore each other through soft kisses and tender hair ruffles.

"I'm sorry about what I said," Bokuto says after a while, breaking the peaceful silence that's fallen between them. "I know you're not selfish."

"I know you didn't really mean that," Kuroo pulls back a bit so he can really look at Bokuto, "and I shouldn't have walked out on you like I did."

"I knew where to find you," Bokuto assures him with a soft smile, but doesn't add anything else, making it clear he'd like Kuroo to start this off, and this time he's ready to listen.

"Aren't you worried that we'll never be ourselves again?" Kuroo finally asks. It's kind of hard for him to say that out loud, and admit that he might be afraid of something, albeit indirectly.

"No," Bokuto is as sure as ever, and Kuroo wishes he could have even just an ounce of that supreme confidence. "Akaashi and Kenma can only do it during Halloween." He's said that before, but the reminder helps take the edge off his fears.

"But what if that's a lie?" He feels like scum for even asking such a thing, but he can't help himself.

"I don't believe Akaashi would lie to me like that," Bokuto responds before falling silent, watching him for a moment before asking, "Do you think Kenma would?"

"No," Kuroo answers quietly, turning to the side a bit and feeling ashamed he can't share Bokuto's confidence in their ghostly housemates.

"Hey." Kuroo doesn't turn back, but soon enough he can feel Bokuto placing his hands on his cheeks and gently bringing him back to look at him. The concern flickering in Bokuto's golden eyes makes Kuroo feel incredibly small, and at that moment, there's nothing he'd rather do than hide away in some place dark enough to shield him away from such an intense, yet beautiful gaze. With Bokuto refusing to let him go, however, the best Kuroo can manage is diverting his own gaze away from Bokuto, in favor of looking passed him, at something in the background that wouldn't come into focus.

"Tetsurou." It's rare for either of them to call each other by their full first names, but its use never fails to put Kuroo on edge. Taking a deep breath, Kuroo forces himself to shift his eyes back to Bokuto, and face whatever it is he has to say head on.

"What's really bothering you?" The tenderness in Bokuto's voice fills his chest with a sense of reassurance that he so desperately needs right now.

Another heavy sigh leaves his lips. "I'm scared," he confesses, his voice barely above a whisper, "not really about the possibility of never being me again."

Bokuto doesn't respond; there's a knowing look in his eyes that tells Kuroo he understood that from the very beginning, but can't quite grasp the true source of Kuroo's pain. Nevertheless, the security Bokuto gives him is enough to make him keep going.

"What if we never see each other again?" The question sounds incredibly stupid when he voices it like that, but he's not sure of how else he can explain it.

"That won't happen," Bokuto reiterates, but still it's not enough for him.

"Indulge me with the 'what if' scenario, please?"

"All right," Bokuto nods, taking a moment to figure out how he wants to go about this and giving Kuroo a quick kiss on the cheek before he continues. "If by chance this is a lie, which it's not, but if it is, we'll still be together through all of it."

That doesn't really make any sense to him. Kuroo doesn't say as much, but he supposes Bokuto can see confusion written all over him because he keeps going.

"Like," Bokuto goes quiet for a few seconds, and Kuroo can only assume he's trying again to decide how he can better explain himself, "we're still going to exist while it's happening, and even though I know it won't be you who's in control of your body, I know you'll still be there, waiting for me, just as I will be for you."

"And if we never regain control?" As much as he doesn't want to make this difficult for Bokuto, that's his entire point, and he can't let him forget it.

"If that happens, which it won't," Bokuto repeats yet again, which Kuroo finds is starting to have a positive effect on him, "but if it does, it's an absolute guarantee that nothing will ever separate us, isn't it?" Bokuto asks, as if that's the one thing he's unsure of. "I mean, if Akaashi and Kenma are capable of keeping our bodies after Halloween, they'd be inseparable after so many agonizing years apart from each other, or at least that's what I think."

And suddenly it all makes sense. All Bokuto's ever wanted is to be assured once and for all that he and Kuroo are forever, and that nothing's ever going to come between them.

"Koutarou," he cups Bokuto's cheeks and looks right in the eyes. "Nothing like that's ever going to happen," leaning in, he presses a kiss to Bokuto's temple, "I love you."

"I love you too," Bokuto nibbles at his bottom lip before continuing, "but indulge me in a 'what if?' scenario, would you?"

"Heh," even amid such a serious conversation, Kuroo appreciates seeing Bokuto's sense of humor shine through like this. "I can't even begin to fathom a scenario like that."

"Me neither," Bokuto admits, "but that's what's so scary about it, because it could blindside us."

Of course, Kuroo wants to refute Bokuto's words without a second thought, but he keeps quiet for a moment, and thinks about how he wants to explain his side. "I know the thought of something coming between us is terrifying and unthinkable, and the fact that it's unthinkable is what makes it even scarier, but Bo," finding Bokuto's hands, Kuroo takes ahold of them, lacing their fingers together and bringing their hands up to hold between them, "you and I are strong, and our love is absolute. We can get through anything together, no matter how great the obstacle is, and I'm always gonna love you."

Bokuto blinks a few times, making it all too obvious that he's trying to keep tears from falling. "Can we get through this?" he asks after a moment; his voice is fragile and uncertain.

Before he says anything, Kuroo is quick to close the gap between them and place gentle kisses on Bokuto's eyelids, trying to help keep his tears at bay. "I think we already have, Kou," he answers Bokuto in a warm, reassuring voice, pulling Bokuto closer and wrapping his arms around him in the tightest embrace he's physically capable of. With Bokuto secured in his arms like his, there's not a trace of doubt in Kuroo's doubt mind; together, they're unstoppable, and with the knowledge that he'll always have Bokuto at his side, Kuroo thinks he's made his decision.

* * *

"Are you sure about this?" The doubt in Kenma's is all too apparent, as if he's not convinced Kuroo's really on board with this. A few days ago, he'd be correct in his suspicions, but after constant reassurances from Bokuto, and hearing of the finer details from Kenma himself, Kuroo's no longer afraid. Bokuto is right, even if somehow things don't go as planned, they'll still be together.

"Yeah, I'm sure." At last, he can safely say the resolve in his voice matches Bokuto's, and judging by the small, barely noticeable smile that graces Kenma's lips, he understands that.

"Okay." He doesn't say anything more as he glides over to Kuroo and takes a seat right across from him. He doesn't say anything, prompting Kuroo to break the silence.

"So, what do we do?"

"Stay calm, and leave it to me," Kenma answers but still doesn't make a move to do anything. Kuroo's not exactly sure what he's doing, but he decides not to question him, and let Kenma work at his own pace. After a few moments of silence, Kenma speaks up again. "Before we do this, I have one more thing to ask of you." Kuroo's not sure why Kenma sounds hesitant at this point.

"Yeah?"

"I have every intention of making love to Akaashi tonight." His manner of speech is far more direct than what Kuroo's used to hearing from Kenma, and he can't help but be proud of him, simply because it feels like Kenma's coming out of his shell for him. "Are you okay with that?" His voice is still calm, yet firm, and Kuroo immediately knows why he's asking.

"Of course." His voice is equally as confident as Kenma's. "Bo and I figured you and Akaashi would want to take the opportunity while you had it, and we're fine with it, so long as the canoodling stays between you two." Kuroo knows he doesn't have to worry about such a thing with Kenma and Akaashi, but regardless, he can't help but tease Kenma just a little. "Don't be inviting any strangers over, because we're definitely not down with that."

"Don't be like that, Kuroo," Kenma replies with the most unamused expression he's ever seen in his life.

Kuroo shrugs. "Just laying out the rules, man."

A sigh passes through Kenma's lips. "While that's reasonable, I can assure you that you have nothing to be concerned about."

"I know, Kenma. I'm messing with you." he flashes Kenma grin, to which he receives a small smile in return, letting him know Kenma understands. When silence falls upon them once more, Kenma looks as if he's ready to proceed just as a sudden thought pops into Kuroo's mind, one he must let Kenma know about before they do this.

"If you two get hungry or anything, there's plenty of food and the fridge, and I made you an apple pie," he tries to be casual about it, but ends up feeling rather embarrassed about it anyway. After so many years of being a part, food is probably the last thing Kenma and Akaashi have on their minds, but still, they've also gone all that time without tasting their favorite foods, which both he and Bokuto would be a good thing to rectify.

For the first time, he hears Kenma laugh. It's just barely audible, but it's genuine, and Kuroo can tell it's a sign of appreciation. "Thank you, Kuro. You'll be yourself again by morning." He pauses for a second before adding, "I promise."

"I trust you," he says without a lingering trace of reluctance in his voice nor his soul.

Kenma offers him another small smile, but otherwise doesn't say anything else. He simply moves closer to Kuroo in a slow, almost timid manner, as if he fears Kuroo might recoil from him. To his own surprise, however, Kuroo doesn't so much as flinch when Kenma gets into his personal space, waiting a few seconds before reaching out to place his ghostly hands over Kuroo's cheeks. He can't feel anything of course, but with Kenma touching him in the only way a ghost can, he can't help but notice the sharp decrease in temperature around them. While Kenma doesn't explicitly tell him to do so, Kuroo seems to take the hint, allowing his eyes to fall shut when Kenma's face is just centimeters from his own, knowing that Kenma is still closing in on him.

Before he knows what's happening, he feels a slight tingling sensation against his lips. The sense he receives from such a mild touch is wholly indescribable and leaves Kuroo feeling light-headed. With his consciousness quickly slipping away, a warm golden hue, which enamors him unlike anything else is the last passing sight that crosses his mind before darkness consumes him.

* * *

The next thing Kuroo knows, he's still very much conscious, and perhaps more importantly, still in his own body. He finds himself facing a mirror, studying himself with an acute focus. It's rather unusual for him to do, he'd long since given up on trying to do anything with his bedhead, and therefore never spent this much time in front of a mirror.

When his hand is raised and brought so close to his face that he can see the individual lines in the skin, he immediately realizes he isn't the one controlling his movements, which sets him into a state of panic. When he glances back into the mirror, he sees that his expression shows nothing of his inner hysteria. His entire composure is cool and collected, and he can't understand why he's not physically freaking out like he should be, until it hits him squarely in the face that he's not the one in charge.

Kenma.

Strangely enough, knowing Kenma's succeeded in taking possession of his body fills him with a sense of serenity, and he's no longer afraid because he knows it's going to be all right. This is exactly what he'd agreed to, and as far as he knew, everything was going to plan. From the way Kenma's still examining his body, Kuroo assumes that he wasn't out for very long; he's almost weirded out by how closely Kenma's looking at him, and causing him to see various lines (and even a small birthmark near his elbow) that he'd never noticed before, but he knows how long it's been since Kenma's had a tangible body, so he supposes it makes sense. He's not sure how long Kenma keeps this up, but the next thing he knows, there's a familiar voice calling out Kenma's name.

"Kenma?"

The voice echoes from upstairs and through the hall into the room they're in. Again, through the mirror, he notices his eyes light up upon hearing Kenma's name, and just like that, his legs are moving without him, putting one foot in front of the other, walking out of the spare bedroom, through the corridor and over to the stairwell, where he's met with the sight of a man who looks just like his husband.

"Keiji." Kuroo hears his voice, but once again, it doesn't feel like he's the one who's spoken.

"Kenma." As he watches Bokuto's lips move, yet he knows without a doubt that the man before him, or them, he supposes, is not Bokuto, at least not completely.

Without wasting another second, his body starts running sprint up the stairs, while Bokuto comes down the stairs at the same time. It's only by some miracle that the force with which their bodies collide do not send either of them falling back on the staircase. With their arms firmly wrapped around each other, hands running up and down back muscle before Bokuto's hands wind up in his hair and carding through the soft locks in an uncoordinated manner, their lips finally meet in one of the most loving kisses Kuroo's ever witnessed. It's incredible to watch Kenma and Akaashi kiss each other, using his and Bokuto's bodies as if they're actually their own, not that Kuroo knows the logistics of how this works, but before this point, he'd figured it would take them a few moments to get used to touching new bodies, but as it turns out, Kenma and Akaashi have this down pat.

As their kisses become heated and far more passionate than before, Kuroo realizes how unafraid of this he really is. Not having any sort of control over his body, yet watching his body move and embrace Bokuto's body without him even needing to think about it is a surreal experience, one that captivates him in the strangest of ways and compels him to keep watching.

It's not long before Kenma is using his body to push back against Bokuto's, a motion which Akaashi seems to understand without the need of an explanation, as he is already using Bokuto's body to step backwards and move up the stairs, all while wrapping his arms around him, and pulling him along. Kuroo watches with pure awe as Kenma and Akaashi never break the kiss as they move up the stairs, getting to the second floor, where Kenma continues to push Akaashi backward. Just like before, Akaashi seems to know exactly how to react to Kenma, and moves back with him down the hallway without the slightest hint of difficulty. As the second floor is Akaashi's territory, he's the one who inevitably takes the lead and turns after a few paces, pulling Kenma along into the bedroom. Kenma must realize that as well, for they hardly make it two steps into the room before he's already shoving Akaashi onto the bed with a level of gracelessness that he normally sees with Bokuto and himself.

Once again, it seems like Akaashi is accustomed to everything Kenma's doing, with the way he starts pulling himself up closer towards the head of the bed. At the same time, Kenma takes the opportunity to remove his shirt. Kuroo hadn't realized just how hot he was until a cool rush of air hits his skin, eliciting a shiver from his body. Akaashi hardly has a second to gain his bearings before Kenma is already pouncing into bed with him, climbing over him with his hands automatically sliding under Bokuto's shirt with the clear intention of removing it.

The next few moments are a total blur for Kuroo. One second, he's watching his hands glide up Bokuto's body, pulling the shirt along with it and revealing his toned abdomen to Kenma's hungry gaze, which apparently, is the perfect catalyst to get Kenma really going, because before he knows what's really going on, there's a whirlwind of clothes flying in every direction with his hands grabbing at Bokuto's while Bokuto's hands do the same to him. Soon, both he and Bokuto are completely naked in front of each other. The sight itself isn't anything new, but the knowledge that the man below him is not Bokuto, nor is he really himself for that matter, looms over him.

While Kenma begins to attack Akaashi with gentle kisses that quickly stray away from his mouth and venture down his jawline and neck, his lips soon become more fervent and playful with the way he nips at the tender skin from time to time. During Kenma's ministrations, Kuroo starts to wonder what Kenma and Akaashi see when they look at each other through another's eyes, but after a while, Kuroo decides that they must be seeing each other, as they were before death. As he continues to watch, Kuroo can't help but feel like some kind of voyeur in his own body. He thinks he should probably give Kenma and Akaashi some much-deserved privacy, but he has no idea how to do so, and if he's being honest with himself, he'll admit that even if he figures out, he probably won't have the willpower required to seal himself away for the night. Not only is their love so pure and captivating, but more than anything else, Kuroo yearns to see a hint of Bokuto somewhere inside of Akaashi. It doesn't matter if it's through an expression, through something Akaashi says, or through any other means, just needs to see a sign that lets him know that Bokuto's still there.

Before he can catch a glimpse of Bokuto however, he becomes distracted when he notices Akaashi's been using Bokuto's hands to roam over his back and stomach, and he's brought back to the matter at hand completely once he feels his entire body quiver in need when Akaashi runs his thumb over the slit of his cock.

"Fuck," Kenma lets out a haggard moan. "Do you know where they keep the lube?"

A knowing grin spreads across Akaashi's face as he reaches over to the nightstand and pulls it open before reaching in to pull out a small bottle of lubricant. "They also keep a bottle in the bathroom," he snickers, "you know, to shake things up a bit."

Kuroo feels his lips morph into a mischievous smirk. "You haven't been spying on our humans too much, have you, Keiji?"

"Just enough to take note of where they keep supplies." Akaashi's own grin mirrors Kenma's as his hands placed themselves on Kenma's hips, and letting out a low moan when he rolls his crotch against Kenma. "I've waited for you long enough for you, Kenma."

"Mmm," Kenma hummed softly, bending down to continue peppering Akaashi's chest in tender kisses, before darting his tongue out to lap at one of his nipples, earning himself a soft moan of approval from Akaashi. "And you just couldn't bear to wait the additional ten seconds it would take to look in the most obvious place there is to keep stuff like this on your own?"

Kuroo can hardly believe his ears right now. The notion of Kenma teasing Akaashi like this probably shouldn't be all that exciting to him, but he can't deny the sheer giddiness he gets from witnessing this banter. He can't really explain why, but it's the moments like these that really get to him, the ones he could watch over and over again. Getting to see Akaashi and Kenma interact with each other is undeniably one of the most incredible things he's ever seen, it's inexplicably fascinating, and leaves him wanting to see more. When he sees a particular look in Akaashi's eyes, however, he knows the softer moments will have to wait.

"No." From the tone he uses, it's abundantly clear that Akaashi is not kidding around, and before Kenma has time to respond, he's taking hold of his arms and flipping them both over straddling his hips with practiced ease, as if he's done this exact same move multiple times in the past.

"My turn now, beautiful." With those words, Kuroo's earlier suspicions are proven correct, he knows with a doubt, Akaashi doesn't see him through Bokuto's eyes. He only sees Kenma, just as Kenma can only see Akaashi through his. "I love you, Kenma," Akaashi lets out a heavy moan as his hands begin to trail down his chest - his motions are slow and thorough, as if he's trying to memorize how every muscle and curvature feels under his touch, and it's the one and only indication that suggests they might still be aware these bodies aren't their own.

"Mmm," Akaashi lets out a soft hum as his hands settle on his hips. A pensive expression covers his face as he looks down at Kenma. Even from where he is, Kuroo can hear the gears turning in Akaashi's mind as he mulls over his options. He can only imagine what Akaashi must be feeling right now, probably having dreamt of this moment for so very long, only to be overwhelmed by its arrival.

After another moment of contemplation, a soft smile graces Akaashi's lips as he leans down to press tender kisses against Kenma's collarbone, mimicking Kenma's earlier actions, but adding his own special twist in the way he alternates between kisses gentle sucking motions. Knowing how sensitive his own skin can be, Kuroo's already resigned himself to the fact that he'll find several new love bites all over his body in the morning.

As his body relaxes under Akaashi's touch, Kenma lets out a low hum. "Figured out what you want to do with me?"

"Yeah, I think so," Akaashi purrs in between kisses, not once ceasing the kisses he's in the midst of pressing against his abdomen, slowly moving downwards until he's reached his cock.

Kenma brings his body up so that he's leaning on his elbows, giving him the perfect view of Akaashi's ministrations. Akaashi looks up him, licking his lips and giving Kenma the most lustful look he's ever seen, one that just screams he's been dying for the opportunity to taste Kenma.

He doesn't give Kenma the opportunity to say anything or react in any way before he's going down on him, taking his cock into his mouth in one swift motion. With his arms going weak, Kuroo knows Kenma's having a difficult time holding himself up, all thanks to the sinful way in which Akaashi uses his newly acquired tongue to pleasure Kenma, licking a strip from the base of his cock up to the head, where he proceeds to lap away the precum that's already starting to form at the tip. With his lips still wrapped around the head of his cock, Akaashi lets out a low purr, sending sweet vibrations down his length, and causing Kenma to lose the strength he needs in order to keep his position, and inevitably falling back on the bed and letting Akaashi work his magic on him. Kuroo can't help but notice how similar Akaashi and Bokuto are in the way they work on his (and in this case Kenma's) cock. Akaashi moves Bokuto's lips and tongue in the exact same manner in which he would if he had control, and as it feels like Bokuto's treating him, Kuroo can't help but relax along with Kenma, and enjoy every aspect of this.

The sound of a bottle cap snapping open brings his attention back to Akaashi, and with Kenma repositioning them to see what's going on, he knows Kenma has his own set of suspicions. Kuroo feels his own eyes widen with excitement when he sees Akaashi use Bokuto's lube-coated fingers to slip behind and begin fingering himself, causing him to moan around his already oversensitive cock.

As hot as it is for Kuroo to watch Akaashi open Bokuto's body up like this, it doesn't seem to be what Kenma's after, because before he knows what's going on, he's reaching out, grabbing Akaashi by the shoulders, and gracelessly pulling him back up before flipping them over so he's back on top of Akaashi, staring down at him with a wicked smile pulling at the corners of his lips. "Did you think you could steal all the fun away from me like that?" Kenma asks, rolling his hips into Akaashi, and eliciting another loud moan from him.

"I might have gotten a tad bit overzealous," Akaashi admits with a wide smirk plastered all over his lips once he recovers, making it clear he isn't the least bit repentant about it. "Can you blame me?"

"No, but I can certainly make you work a little harder for it," Kenma snickers, sliding down Akaashi's body to take the position, he'd had only moments before.

Akaashi all but throws his head back against the pillows, bringing his arms up with to rest by his head, as if he's accepted whatever torturous fate Kenma has in store for him. "You always were the devil, Kenma," he says with that same grin and a mixture of adoration and passion burning in his eyes.

"And you've always loved it," Kenma quips without missing a beat as he gently pushes his hands against Bokuto's inner thighs, prompting Akaashi to spread his legs. "That's it, nice and wide for me," Kenma says, his tone soft and encouraging as he retracts his hands in favor of retrieving the small bottle of lube Akaashi had let go of earlier in the rush. Pouring a generous amount onto his hand, Kenma rubs the gel in between his fingers and warms it up as he lowers his hand, picking up where he'd forced Akaashi to leave off by pressing a slick finger against his entrance, tracing the muscled ring in the most teasing way possible before gently pushing his finger inside of Akaashi's tight body.

"Mmm yeah," Kenma lets out in a hushed moan, "just like that, so good, so perfect."

Akaashi doesn't respond, it's obvious from the expression on his face that he's dedicated his concentration to relaxing for Kenma. It's not long before Kuroo feels Bokuto's body loosen around his finger, allowing Kenma to work a second, and eventually a third into his body with the utmost care. Kenma's slow and thorough motions not only ensure the proper amount of preparation for Akaashi, but make sure Akaashi is teased in the most wicked way imaginable, ripping a new wanton moan from Bokuto's throat with every new touch of his fingers.

"Kenma," Kuroo can hardly believe how hot and bothered Akaashi sounds right now. He has Bokuto's body quivering with raw need. From his own experience with Bokuto, Kuroo knows Akaashi must be like putty in Kenma's hands. "Please."

"Please what, my sweet Keiji?" Kenma asks in a voice that's as smooth as velvet and equally as sweet. If Kuroo had control of himself, he's certain his mouth would be agape with how surprised he is with Kenma now. This is the supreme level of teasing he's known for, and he takes supreme delight seeing Kenma dish it out to Akaashi so easily. He makes a mental note to heckle Kenma about this a bit later, just for his own personal amusement.

There's a certain spark in Akaashi's eyes that says he wants to be defiant in some way, but just as he's about to say something, Kenma delivers a direct hit to his prostate, causing the words to die on the tip of his tongue and be replaced with a loud, blissful moan that echoes throughout the room.

"I hear you loud and clear," he teases as he withdraws Kuroo's fingers from Bokuto's ass, only to move closer in between Bokuto's legs and position his erection at Bokuto's entrance. Kuroo quickly becomes fascinated with how the ring of muscle almost seems to make an attempt in swallowing his dick with one touch. "Ready for me?"

Even through the pleasure, Akaashi wears an expression of pure unamusement for the briefest of seconds, which dissolves back into pleasure once Kenma wraps his hand around Bokuto's cock, languidly pumping it a couple of times. "Hmm?"

"Yes," Akaashi lets out in shaky breath, which all Kenma needs to hear.

When Kenma enters Akaashi, an entirely new surge of emotions hit Kuroo, it's unlike anything he's ever felt before in his life. Physically, this doesn't feel any different, but it's the level of sheer passion that courses through his veins that makes him feel as though his entire being has been set aflame in the best of ways.

"I've got you, Keiji," he's amazed Kenma's able to say that without his voice wavering as he reaches down to pump Akaashi's cock with the same speed he's using to thrust inside him.

The unadulterated pleasure that steadily builds within him suddenly hits an exponential growth, he has absolutely no idea how Kenma and Akaashi have managed to keep it together for this long, especially when he already feels as if he's going to burst at any moment. Having these intense sensations of arousal, while having no control of over them is probably the only part of this entire arrangement he takes issue with. Kuroo's not at all used to holding back with Bokuto, and as such, experiencing Kenma and Akaashi's lovemaking, while one of the most intense, gratifying events of his life, is simultaneously one of the most torturous. He's been toeing that blissful edge for so long, that instead of naturally falling over and letting the state of ecstasy rush over him, he's ready to jump over that line himself. He's so damn close, but something holds him back, and he's powerless to free himself.

At long last, a particularly loud moan that rips itself from Bokuto's throat via Akaashi answers his prayers and promises that sweet relief is just around the corner.

"Kenma," Akaashi starts, reaching out to caress Kenma's cheek. "Are you-" a loud moan prevents him from finishing his question, but as always, Kenma seems to know exactly what he needs.

"Yeah," Kenma lets out through a low moan of his own. "Right there with you."

It's only then that Kuroo can finally see the glimpse he's been looking for. The hint is so subtle, that if he hadn't been concentrating as hard as he had been he surely would have missed it, but fortunately, he sees it perfectly. As he continues to stare into Akaashi's eyes, which even he must admit are an exceptional and one-of-a-kind shade of blue, small flecks of bright gold glimmer through, and Kuroo knows it's him. Seeing Bokuto like that, even through a small glimpse like this, is the only thing Kuroo really needs. As mind-numbingly amazing as experiencing Kenma and Akaashi's love has been up to this point, he now feels complete, like he's really meant to be there.

Though the onslaught of intense emotions, Kenma's orgasm hits them both ferocious intensity, as incredible as it feels, Kuroo is left completely drained, as if he's the one who really had the best orgasm of his life. He only needs to see the look of pure euphoria in Akaashi's eyes to know that he's reached his climax as well.

In that moment, more than anything else, Kuroo wants to keep watching Kenma and Akaashi. He wishes he could watch them interact a little bit more, perhaps see them cuddle each other. He wants to see Akaashi's blue eyes sparkle with love and devotion as he looks at Kenma through his body, and he wants to see Kenma's tender gaze reflecting in those same eyes. Their love is so pure and wholesome, he can't help but think about how similar their relationship seems to be with his and Bokuto's.

He understands them. He feels several decades worth of anguish and unbearable loneliness dissolve into sweet relief with each second they spend tangled in each other's arms.

Kuroo wishes he could stay awake long enough to see how this plays out, he wants to keep feeling these amplified feelings of love and affection engulf his soul and go straight to his very core, but alas, exhaustion looms over him like a dark cloud, and he knows he won't be able to see this for much longer. Before he succumbs to rest, however, he forces himself to look back into Akaashi's eyes, hoping to catch a glimpse or a hint of something more, but try as he might, he can't bring himself to focus any longer, and for the second time that night, he lets himself fall into the realm of unconsciousness.

* * *

Kuroo's awakens to the gentle sensation of soft lips covering his own. The feeling lasts for a few seconds before the slight pressure shifts from his lips and over to his cheek, carefully brushing against his skin and pressing sweet kisses all over his face, effectively bestowing upon him the most affectionate wakeup call of his life.

"Mornin', babe," he fails to stifle a yawn before bringing his arms up to wrap around the love of his life, carding his fingers through his soft hair and nuzzling his nose against Bokuto's.

"Mmm, hey beautiful," Bokuto smiles, his voice is just enough to jog Kuroo's memory, causing him to tighten his hold on Bokuto. He doesn't say anything just yet, but as always, Bokuto seems to understand him without hearing a word.

"You, did it, Tetsu."

"We did it, Kou," Kuroo replies automatically, sitting up, pulling Bokuto into a proper embrace and return each and every gentle kiss that had been so lovingly bestowed upon him seconds ago.

A large smile splits Bokuto's face as he soaks up Kuroo's affections, and once again, he's reminded of why he loves him so much. A feeling of warmth and tenderness begin to swell within his chest, and before he knows it, his kisses become frantic, resulting in him covering as much of Bokuto's face with kisses as quickly as he possibly can. "I love you," he whispers in between kisses, and before he has a chance to really think about it, he's letting himself fall back into the bed, pulling Bokuto with him and rolling over a second later, allowing him to straddle Bokuto's hips and take the opportunity to look down and really appreciate how handsome he is.

Bokuto looks right back up at him, his eyes bright and perfectly convey how eager he is for whatever Kuroo might be planning.

"You gonna show me how much you love me?" Bokuto asks, giving him the most suggestive of eyebrow wiggles.

"You know I am." A playful smirk plays upon his lips as he leans in close, inhaling Bokuto's sweet scent before kissing Bokuto's neck, slowly peppering his tender flesh with gentle kisses, slowly moving his way up to Bokuto's jawline, until-

"So, I know this is technically your bedroom, but could you two chill for two seconds and get a feel for your surroundings first?"

Hearing an unfamiliar voice, Kuroo's body tenses, causing him to cease his onslaught of kisses mid-attack and look up in the direction of where the sound came from.

His jaw drops when his eyes fall on Kenma, who's hovering over on the loveseat with his arms wrapped around a man he doesn't recognize, but with one glance at Bokuto, who seems at ease, if not just a bit surprised, he realizes the other man must be Akaashi.

"Don't be so uptight, it's nothing you two haven't seen before," Kuroo replies, waving Akaashi's comment off like he's talking to a long-time friend, rather than second ghost living in his home whom he's meeting for the first time, and completely ignoring the fact that he can actually see Akaashi.

"Or used," Bokuto quips, reaching his hand out to Kuroo with his palm up.

"Heh, nice one, bro," Kuroo snickers, lightly slapping his hand on top of Bokuto's in a high five.

The twin looks of supreme judgment Akaashi and Kenma give them almost make Kuroo feel like he should display the slightest sliver of shame, but whatever shred of humility he might have felt is quickly shrugged off in favor of nuzzling Bokuto's cheek. Climbing off Bokuto, he rolls over to sit up, prompting Bokuto to follow him until they're both leaning against the headboard the bed, with Kuroo throwing an arm around Bokuto's shoulders.

A calm silence falls over the room, with neither couple saying anything at first. Kuroo wonders if he should introduce Bokuto to Kenma, or if he should give Akaashi a proper greeting, but before the right words come to mind, Bokuto's already decided to speak up.

"Are you two, you know?" Bokuto doesn't finish that thought, but Kuroo immediately picks up on what he's getting at, and quite frankly, he's wondering the same thing. But just like Bokuto, he's unsure of how to ask.

"No, we're still ghosts." Luckily, Kenma picks up on their question easily. As if he thought Kuroo and Bokuto might not believe him, he reaches out, as if to put his hand on the armrest, only for it to fall through it, which of course satisfies their inquiry. Retracting his hand, Kenma brings his arm back to wrap around Akaashi's waist, who appears to have a solid form, if only to him.

While both Akaashi and Kenma seem rather nonchalant about the entire thing, Bokuto appears to be as curious about this news as he is, because once again, he asks the exact question that's running through his mind. "But how? I mean, how are you two able to be like this, and how can we both see you?" After a slight pause, "Also, hi Kenma," he adds, waving to him.

"Hello, Bokuto," Kenma smiles, giving him a small wave in return. "To answer your questions, the truth is, we don't really know. When we left your bodies to rest in this room, I was able to stay here with Keiji, rather than be forced back downstairs."

"And we haven't really taken the chance to figure out why, but surely you can understand that," Akaashi says while his attention is directed towards Kenma, his hand lightly runs through Kenma's hair as he speaks.

"So," Kuroo begins slowly, feeling like he's asking and pointing out the obvious, but he's still trying to wrap his head around this, "finding a way around the curse, or whatever it was, that kept you two apart, was enough to break it for good?"

"That's the gist of it," Kenma nods in agreement, reaching over to take ahold of Akaashi's free hand.

"But the curse isn't broken yet, not really, right?" Again, Bokuto voices the exact inquiries buzzing through his mind. "If it was, you two would pass on into the afterlife, or wherever ghosts are supposed to go when the binds that keep them here are destroyed, right?"

"Supposedly," Kenma's voice is as calm and cool as ever, "and yet here we are."

"Neither of you two seems too concerned about that," Kuroo can't help but note, earning himself what he can only assume are dual shrugs of indifference from Kenma and Akaashi.

"Now that we have each other, spending eternity like this doesn't feel so unbearable," Akaashi explains further. "And we kind of like it here," he adds, looking around the room a bit. "The interior design leaves a lot to be desired, but surely we can work on that."

"Don't trust him on that," Bokuto covers his ear and whispers into it, "his sense of style is the worst!"

Kuroo snickers at that. Given what he knows about Bokuto's own sense of style, he's honestly not sure who to believe, but he's certain he'll find out soon enough. Amazingly, the realization makes him feel incredibly warm inside.

"We can have a discussion how to decorate the house later," "but as you two can clearly see, I'm kinda trying to mack on my bro right now, so if you wouldn't mind," he trails off, figuring no further explanation is needed.

A wicked smirk plays upon Akaashi's lips. "I don't know about that," he says, exchanging a look with Kenma who's already snickering about something, leaving Kuroo entirely clueless. "You two had the privilege of watching us last night," his tone of voice suggests Kuroo and Bokuto had a choice in their blatant voyeurism.

"Out!" Before Kuroo can even think about what he's doing, he's grabbing the nearest pillow and hurling it at Akaashi and Kenma, completely forgetting how ineffective his actions are until the pillow flies right through them, falling somewhere behind the sofa.

The smirks fall from both Akaashi's and Kenma's faces, and are quickly replaced with twin looks of complete unamusement that all but scream 'Are you for real right now?'

"Shit," he curses under his breath. While Kuroo's not exactly apologetic about it, he can't believe he did something like that. However, he doesn't get the chance to explain himself before Akaashi and Kenma exchange looks that give Kuroo the impression he definitely hasn't heard the last of this.

Once the judgment plastered all over their expressions wears off, Akaashi dons a deceptively sweet smile, his gaze never once leaving Kenma. "Perhaps they deserve a few moments to themselves, what do you think?"

Kenma maintains a straight face, but Kuroo sees a certain spark in his eyes that only confirms what he already knows. He makes a mental note to stock up on apple pie, if not because he's certain the ones he already has will all go to waste, then in an attempt to get back into Kenma's good graces.

"For now," Kenma nods in agreement before standing up, pulling Akaashi up and leading him out of the room without another word, and leaving Kuroo and Bokuto to themselves.

"Bro, they're totally gonna haunt us for that." A playful grin starts to tug at the corners of Bokuto's lips as he scoots closer to Kuroo, making it obvious that he's not at all concerned about how Akaashi and Kenma intend to get them back, in fact, he might be looking forward to it.

"Counting on it, bro," Kuroo's smile is equally as mischievous as moves to meet Bokuto's lips in a tender kiss, now fully intent on showing Bokuto how much he adores him.


End file.
